Some of the definitions used in 1960 differ from those used in 1950. These changes were made after consultation with users of census data in order to improve the statistics, even though it was recognized that comparability would be affected. The definitions and explanations should be interpreted in the context of the 1960 Censuses, in which data were collected by a combination of self-enumeration, direct interview, and observation by the enumerator.

The definitions below are consistent with the instructions given to the enumerator. As in all surveys, there were some failures to execute the instructions exactly. Through the forms distributed to households, the respondents were given explanations of some of the questions more uniformly than would have been given in direct interviews. Nevertheless, it was not feasible to give the full instructions to the respondents, and some erroneous replies have undoubtedly gone undetected.

More complete discussions of the definitions of population items are given in 1960 Census of Population, Volume I, Characteristics of the Population, Part 1, United States Summary, and in each of the State parts.

State of Birth and Residence In 1955

The present report combines data on State of birth with data on State of residence in 1955 and 1960. This cross-classification yields a three-point residence sequence with five major combinations: (1) Living in State of birth in 1955 and 1960; (2) living in State of birth in 1955, hut not in 1960; (3) living in State of birth in 1960, but not in 1955; living in same State in 1955 and 1960 but not in State of birth; (5) living in different States in 1955 and 1960 and both different from State of birth. There are also several residual categories involving persons born abroad or living abroad in 1955 and persons with incomplete reports on birthplace or 1955 residence. This classification is presented in table 1 for the United States by age, sex, color, and nativity, and in table 5 for the total population of the several States.

The maximum geographic detail is found in table 6, which combines the State of 1960 residence with the geographic division of 1955 residence and geographic division of birth. In this table the data are shown by age, sex, color, and nativity for each State. In the remaining tables (2, 3, 4, 7, and 8), the data are cross-classified by division of 1960 residence by division of 1955 residence by division of birth. The characteristics shown include age, sex, color, nativity, and, in the last two tables, educational attainment.